An anti-government protester holds a picture of Nabeel Rajab, founder of the Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, during a sit-in organized by Bahrain’s main opposition party Al Wefaq, at the village of Muqsha, west of Manama, September 20, 2013. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed

Associated Press reports that a Bahrain court this week rejected request for the early release of jailed human rights activist human Nabeel Rajab, subject of my 28 November posting.  His lawyer Jalila al-Sayed says a judge rejected her request Sunday to approve a conditional early release.  Bahrain’s state news agency says Rajab was arrested on May 5, 2012 for inciting  illegal rallies and marches. Bahraini law provides for early prison release on grounds of good behavior after three-quarters of a sentence served—Nabeel became eligible for release on November 29.

“We continue to encourage Bahrain to take the necessary steps to promote reconciliation among Bahrainis, including permitting all sectors of society to voice their political views in a peaceful manner,” State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told reporters Monday.

“We have seen reports that the head of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights Nabeel Rajab … was denied early release today in Bahrain. We understand that he has served 18 months of his two-year prison sentence and is scheduled to be released in May of next year. We remain deeply concerned about the three-year prison sentence for leading illegal gatherings. We urge the Government of Bahrain to protect the universal rights of freedom of expression and assembly, just as we urge all elements of Bahraini society to engage in peaceful expressions of political opinion,” Psaki said.

Rajab is one of several prominent prisoners from crackdowns during an  uprising that began in February 2011.

This week, Amnesty International Bahrain tells us that  Hussein Jawad, 25, was arrested November 24 for remarks he made during a speech marking Ashura, when Shi’a Muslims commemorate the death of Hussein ibn Ali, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad.  He is charged with inciting hatred toward the regime.

Screen grab from Shezanne Cassim’s spoof documentary video about fictional “Satwa Combat School.” (via YouTube)

An American citizen is the first foreign national imprisoned in the UAE in violation of a new cybercrimes law.

It began in October 2013, when twenty-nine year old Shezanne Cassim uploaded a satirical video he and a group of friends had made.  Six months later, he and his four friends received phone calls from Dubai police instructing them to report to police headquarters with their passport.  Cassim and the others were placed in detention.

Cassim  was arrested April 7 and is being held in a maximum-security prison.  If convicted, he faces jail and as much as $250,000 in fines.

His crime?  Cassim is accused of using the internet to publish “caricatures” that are “liable to endanger state security and its higher interests or infringe on public order.”

The video begins with a disclaimer that all material presented in the video is fictional and no offense was intended to the UAE or to the people of Satwa.

The video, says Cassim family spokesperson, presents a humorous and ironic portrayal of Satwa youth, specifically focusing on the ‘Satwa G’ stereotype.

The term “Satwa Gs” was coined by Dubai teenagers in Dubai during the 1990s.  “Satwa Gs” were described ironically as “gangstas” because of their affinity for rap music and adoption of hip-hop fashion. The ‘Satwa Gs’ stereotype portrays youth who spent time in Satwa as good-for-nothings who liked to loiter and start fights that were never followed through on. They were never taken seriously and were also often ridiculed for their lack of actual fighting prowess (hence why there was no real follow-through when they started fights – their barks were bigger than their bites).

Therein lies the irony of the parody: “Satwa Gs” who attend a fictional street-fighting school to learn how to fight defend themselves.  Their weapons are useless:

1. The naal is a sandal worn by nearly every male in the UAE;
2. The agal is the black cord that hold’s a man’s white gutrah (headcovering)  in place;  and
3. The mobile phone is shown as the school’s most effective weapon, a means of calling  for backup.

UAE Federal Legal Decree No. 5/ 2012 on  cybercrimes  was issued on November 12, 2012.

The Emirates Centre for Human Rights says the law has up until now only been used to Emirati activists.

Human Rights Watch Middle East director Joe Stork says the decree “reflects an attempt to ban even the most tempered criticism” and is “incompatible with the image UAE rulers are trying to promote of a progressive, tolerant nation.”

Cassim’s parents,  residents of Woodbury, Minnesota, are currently in Dubai seeking release of their son.  Cassim’s brother Shervon Cassim, speaking for the whole family, says, “We are emotionally and physically drained. Our son and brother is locked up in a desert prison seven thousand miles away, and we have been trying to secure his release for eight months. We are tired, we are frustrated, and we are terrified because we don’t know how much longer this will go on.”

What do you think about the case?  Feel free to comment after watching the video, below:

Kwikdesk is only one week old, but a local version of the social messaging tool has already hit China, with the translation help of  Wu’er Kaixi, the Chinese dissident known for his role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

Kwikdesk allows users to anonymously send messages of up to 300 words with hashtags.  They can also select one of three possible dates for their messages to “self-destruct” and disappear forever, without a trace.  Users also can search existing messages by hashtags.

Kwikdesk is the brainchild of Irish visual artist and photographer Kevin Abosch, who tells VOA he  is working on a Russian version of the messaging tool, which is almost ready to launch, and that Arab and Farsi sites are “on the drawing board.”

Abosch, who has photographed some of the most prominent dissidents around the world, says he chose to work with Wu’er because of the latter’s activism.  Some, however, have expressed concern that if kwikdesk’s Chinese version  is associated too closely with Wu’er, it could attract unwanted attention from the Chinese government.

“Kwikdesk is a piece of conceptual art created in response to other forms of social media I’ve come across,” Abosch says.  “There is a beauty in that interplay between the audience and the artwork.  Kwikdesk is that interplay.”

The English-language web platform was only  launched November 25, but it has already received very positive reviews.

Wu’er Kaixi. Courtesy photo: Kevin Abosch.

“The feedback I’m getting from some people is that there are multitude of experiences one can have through kwikdesk,” Kevin says.

“Yes, there is the possibility of using kwikdesk for ‘discreet communication,’ but it’s also used for a rather free-form,  anonymous group discussion, and even gaming.  We are in fact, developing a game at the moment — one in which every user plays a unique game tailored cleverly just for them.”

The benefits are clear for persons living under governments that monitor and censor internet messaging.  But does Kevin every worry that platforms like kwikdesk could be used by, say, criminals or terrorists who want to communicate under the radar?

“Those nefarious forces which exist, regardless of nomenclature (terrorists, pedophiles, etc…) will always find ways to communicate and engage in unsavory behavior,” Abosch says.

“Sometimes it happens ‘underground’ and other times it’s in plain sight, but just not visible to those not involved.  I’m an advocate for free speech.  I’m opposed to hate.  I’m opposed to those who wish to hurt others.”

Interested in testing kwikdesk out?  Go to http://www.kwikdesk.com  and search in the search box, top left, for #rePRESSed.

A computer user sits near displays with a message from the Chinese police on the proper use of the internet at an internet cafe in Beijing, China, Monday, Aug. 19, 2013.

China  says its campaign against what it calls “online rumors” has really cleaned up the internet.

Ren Xianliang, deputy director of China’s State Internet Information Office, told reporters in Beijing Thursday, “The rumors have declined significantly, but this hasn’t affected the normal flow of information.”

Last September, China expanded existing censorship laws by announcing tough new penalties for anyone spreading  “rumors” over the internet–that is, criticizing the government or its policies.   In fact, it isn’t enough to simply tweet “rumors.”  In China, you can now go to jail if you post what the government deems as “defamatory” tweets and they are viewed by 5,000 Internet users and/or  retweeted more than 500 times. 

Worse, writes Harvard business professor Christopher Marquis, you can go to jail if you have more than 50,000 followers.

This is a pretty low threshold, says Human Rights Watch, when you consider that popular topics on weibo microblogs can be reposted thousands of times.

“Although China’s cyberspace has always been tightly controlled and censored, the new criminal penalties for online expression are a direct assault on the relatively freer space generated by social media,” said Sophie Richardson, HRW China director.

“The government claims these new penalties focus only on malicious and libelous content, but critics of the government and whistleblowers are the real target,” Richardson said.

China has blocked a variety of foreign websites, including Twitter, YouTube and Facebook.  Chinese social media services such as Weibo.com are flourishing, but users–understandably–regularly self-censor.  According to Global Voices Advocacy, over the past three months alone, more than 103,673 Sina Weibo users been punished for violating the Weibo “community code of practice.”

Weibo’s 56 million active daily users post about 100 million posts a day.   Weibo is responsible for deleting all content deemed offensive.  If you wonder how in the world it can possibly track that much content, you might want to read this September report from Reuters.

As it turns out, Sina Corp, the internet firm that runs the micro-blogging site, pays 150 young university graduates to read about 3,000 posts per hour, 12 hours a day, around the clock, for which they’re paid less than $500 a month.

Bill Talen, also known as “Reverend Billy,” sings with the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir in Union Square in New York, Monday, July 2, 2007, to protest his arrest there Friday night while reciting the First Amendment. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

He calls himself Reverend Billy, the pastor of the Church of Earthalujah–otherwise known as the Church of Stop Shopping Now.  And when he and his “choir master” Nehemiah Luckett, appear in a New York City court on December 9th, they could end up spending a year in jail.

The comic activist, whose real name is Bill Talen, performs street theater to protest consumerism and climate change.  One Saturday afternoon last June, he and eight members of the choir dressed as golden toads, an animal that went extinct due to climate change 30 years ago, showed up at a Chase Bank branch in Manhattan to protest of the bank’s financing of industries Talen says are destroying the earth (see YouTube video of the performance below):

“Who caused Hurricane Sandy?” Talen shouted through a microphone in the bank lobby.  “Chase Bank did, if anybody did!”

Um, Okay…

JPMorgan Chase & Company was not amused and quickly contacted the police.  Talen and  Luckett were arrested minutes later while standing on a subway platform.  The duo was charged with riot in the second degree, menacing in the third degree, unlawful assembly and two counts of disorderly conduct.

Talen’s lawyer says their 15-minute performance at the bank constitutes “expressive political activity,” which is protected by the 1st Amendment of the US Constitution.

What do you think?  Take our poll now: